The fortunes of war had already given the British command of the eastern end of this chain.

Fort Levis, on what is now Chimney Island, a few miles east of Ogdensburg, had been captured.

Fort Frontenac had been destroyed by Bradstreet, and was left without a garrison.
British troops were in charge of Fort Oswego, which had been built in 1759.

Niagara, the strongest fort on the Great Lakes, had been taken by Sir William Johnson.

Near it were two lesser forts, one at the foot of the rapids, where Lewiston now stands, and the other, Fort Schlosser, on the same side of the river, above the falls.